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Florida high school shooting: What we know so far

Florida high school shooting: What we know so far

The FBI has acknowledged it did not follow its own investigative procedures after it failed to act on a tip about the suspected attacker in a mass shooting at a Florida high school that left at least 17 people dead this week.

The FBI said on Friday that it received a report through a public tipline in January about the suspected shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, whom a caller said displayed a "desire to kill people", "erratic behaviour" and "disturbing social media posts".

The information came from "a person close" to Cruz on January 5, the bureau said in a statement, and should have been forwarded to an FBI field office in Miami, "where appropriate investigative steps would have been taken".

Those protocols were not followed, however, the FBI said.

What happened and where?

A gunman began shooting outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday just before dismissal.

The gunman arrived at the school at 2:19pm local time (19:19 GMT)

At least two people were killed outside the building and one person was killed in the street.

The fire alarm went off inside the school.

The gunman entered one of the school buildings where, according to police, he continued his shooting rampage with a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle.

He eventually fled the scene.

The suspected gunman was later taken into custody in a neighbouring town.

The shooting took place in the town of Parkland. It is about an hour drive from Miami in southeast Florida.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is a public school with about 3,000 students.

How many people were killed?

At least 17 people were killed, including 14 students and three adults who worked at the school.

Three people were killed outside the school, while 12 were shot dead inside one of the buildings. Two died from their injuries at the hospital.

The school's American football coach and athletic director are among the dead.

At least 15 others were injured. Five are suffering from "life-threatening injuries", police said.

He was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder on Thursday morning.

According to police documents, he admitted to the shooting.

Police say Cruz was armed with a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle and carried "multiple" magazines with him. He was also equipped with a gas mask and smoke grenades.

According to officials, Cruz was expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for disciplinary issues. They did not specify when he was expelled or the specifics of his expulsion. He was enrolled in a different high school, local reports said.

Officials have begun going through Cruz's social media accounts and have found "disturbing" posts.

"We have already begun to dissect his websites and things on social media that he was on and some of the things... are very, very disturbing," Sheriff Scott Israel said late on Wednesday.

Police said they are investigating possible links between Cruz and a white supremacist group in Florida.

'I just ran': What have students said?

A number of unverified videos from inside the school at the time of the shooting have been circulating on social media.

In one video, people are screaming "Oh my God!" as gunshots rang out.

Students at the school have described the "chaotic" scene to local media.

"I just ran. I had my book bag on my back, just in case I got shot in the back," one student told CNN.

"We hear bullets coming closer and closer to us, and then we just hear kids screaming," a ninth-grade student told Miami's WPLG news station. "This teacher was apparently trying to help a student and got shot," the student added.

What have officials said?

Florida Governor Rick Scott said the shooting was "absolutely pure evil". He also said there was "a time" to talk about gun control when questioned by reporters on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump offered his condolences to the families of the victims. He said: "No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school".

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy spoke in front of the Senate shortly after the shooting, saying Congress is "responsible for the level of mass atrocity that happens to this country with zero parallel anywhere else". He added: "As a parent, it scares me to death that this body doesn't take serious the safety of my children."

Advocates cautioned Thursday against making assumptions about the links between mental health issues and violence after President Donald Trump said the suspect in a mass shooting at a Florida high school was "mentally disturbed."

“So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior,” Trump tweeted Thursday. In televised remarks on the shooting, which resulted in the deaths of 17 people, he said his administration was tackling "the difficult issue of mental health."

Certain mental illnesses can be associated with violent behavior, but so can many other factors, said Ron Honberg, senior policy adviser at the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

“There are a lot of factors that can cause violence,” he said. “Untreated psychosis may be one, but there are definitely other factors.”

“It feels like mental illness is being used as a political football to deflect attention away from some other important issues, like whether we need sensible gun control laws in this country,” he said.

Paul Gionfriddo, president and CEO of Mental Health America, said linking mental health and violence “frightens” people dealing with such illnesses and can keep them from seeking professional help.

“It makes individuals dealing with it feel less than,” Gionfriddo said. “When violence gets equated with that [mental illness], it makes people more reluctant to talk about it and it does a tremendous amount of harm.”

Advocacy groups such as the American Mental Health Counselors Association say relatively few violent acts are attributable to mental health issues.

"Only 3 percent of all violent acts are committed by people with serious mental illness, and about 1 percent of all violence appears to be committed by people with serious mental illness using firearms to kill strangers," said AMHCA executive director Joel Miller.

Gionfriddo said in addition to warning against tying mental illness to violence, he disapproves of the recent discussion of Trump's own well-being.

Dozens of doctors urged Trump's physician to evaluate the president's neurological health last month after a book raised questions about his stability. A White House doctor later gave Trump a clean bill of health overall and said he performed “well” on a cognitive screening exam.

“I think it’s totally inappropriate for people to pass judgment on the president. It’s being dismissive,” Gionfriddo said. “Plenty of presidents have had mental illness, and they’ve been successful because mental illness is not an impediment. But, it’s also like saying that Trump’s erratic behavior means he has mental illness, and that doesn’t help those dealing with it, either.”

Florida suspect said he heard voices telling him to carry out massacre, law enforcement sources say

The 19-year-old who is accused of killing 17 people and injuring dozens more when he opened fire on a South Florida high school Wednesday afternoon told investigators that he heard voices in his head, giving him instructions on what to do to conduct the attack, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The voices were described as “demons” by law enforcement sources.

Those who knew suspect Nikolas Cruz described him as a troubled teen who was largely alone in the world. An attorney for the family who had taken Cruz in after his adoptive mother died said he was “depressed” following her death but had been going to therapy, while a student who participated in Junior ROTC with Cruz described him as a “psycho” who was enthusiastic about weapons.

Cruz was apprehended by police more than an hour after he was dropped off on campus by an Uber, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said in a press conference today.

Cruz attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school from Jan. 13, 2016, to Feb. 8, 2017, according to school records obtained by ABC Miami affiliate WPLG.

Cruz had bought the weapon allegedly used on the crime just three days after his last day attending the school, on Feb. 11, and picked it up one week later on Feb. 18, 2017, following a background check, an attorney for the gun store owner said in a statement.

An assault involving Cruz occurred on Jan. 19, 2017, the records show. On that same day, he was suspended for one day and a threat assessment was ordered for him. He had been suspended for two days one month earlier. It is unclear what the result of the threat assessment was or whether one was even conducted.

Here is the timeline of how the shooting unfolded on Wednesday, according to authorities:2:06 p.m.

An Uber driver picks up Cruz, according to a timeline from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.2:19 p.m.

Cruz allegedly dropped off on campus by an Uber driver, around the time students were to be dismissed for the day.2:21:18 p.m.

Cruz enters Building 12 by the east stairwell with a black rifle stashed inside a black, soft case.2:21:30 p.m.

Cruz exits the stairwell and removes the rifle from the rifle case.

2:21:33 p.m.

Cruz allegedly readies his rifle before shooting methodically into classrooms 1215, 1216 and 1214. He then went back and shot into rooms 1216, 1215 and 1213, Israel said.2:24:39 p.m.

Cruz then takes the west stairwell to the second floor and shoots one victim in room 1234, Israel said.2:27:37 p.m.

Cruz takes the east stairwell to the third floor, drops his rifle and backpack, and runs down the stairs.2:28:35 p.m.

Cruz exits Building 12 and runs toward the tennis courts.

2:29:51 p.m.

Cruz takes a southbound turn on foot, crosses a field and runs west, attempting to blend into groups of his former classmates as they fled the scene, “fearing for their lives,” Israel said.2:50 p.m.

Cruz arrives at a Walmart near the school, Israel said. There, he purchased a drink at the Subway before leaving the Walmart on foot.3:01 p.m.

Cruz went to McDonald’s and sat there for a short period of time before leaving on foot, Israel said.3:41 p.m.

Cruz is detained without incident, Israel said.

The officer who detained him, Michael Leonard of the Coconut Creek Police Department, said in an earlier press conference Thursday that he spotted someone matching the description of the shooting suspect in a residential neighborhood in Coral Springs, near the school.

Cruz looked like a “typical high school kid,” Leonard said. After he saw him, he “immediately” pulled over his vehicle, and Cruz complied with his orders, he said. Cruz was then positively identified by homicide detectives from the Broward Sheriff’s Office and taken into custody.Thursday afternoon

Cruz makes a brief court appearance. He is charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and is being held at the Broward County Jail without bond.